World of Beer debuts fall menu, hosts WOB-O-Ween Halloween party, celebrates success in Bradenton

BRADENTON -- Though the breeze of a Florida fall isn't as chilly as a northern autumn's, World of Beer has a fall menu packed with comfort foods. Bradenton's World of Beer debuted the menu this month, just in time for the WOB-O-Ween event on Halloween.

WOB-O-Ween at Bradenton's World of Beer, 497 Cortez Road, will start at 6 p.m. Saturday and end at 2 a.m. A costume contest will earn winners gift cards to World of Beer, and the tavern will have pumpkin beers on tap as well as Halloween-themed cocktails. General manager Amy Wilkinson said the tavern will have live music from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday, although they have not confirmed who will perform yet.

Fall plates and pints is a first for more than 70 World of Beer taverns in 21 states.

"In our franchise's eight-year history, we have never designed something of this caliber, and we look forward to crafting more seasonal food menu items for our guests in the future," said World of Beer's executive chef Mark Adair.

The autumn-themed menu includes fall-favorite flavors such as pumpkin, cornbread and chili paired with suitable brews selected by World of Beer experts.

The surprisingly pleasant habanero pumpkin spice wings, created in collaboration with Oskar Blues chef Jason Rogers, are "tossed in a sweet and spicy glaze made with cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and Jamaican allspice, kicked up with habanero chilies and rounded out with a nutty brown ale reduction," according to a World of Beer release. It seems an odd combination of flavors at first. The wings are spicy enough to make your eyes water, but a sweet, pumpkin flavor lingers afterward.

The menu also includes Dogfish Head Meatloaf Sliders, thought up by Dogfish Head Brewery Executive Chef Kevin Downing, Southwest Skillet Cornbread, Colorado Chili and a Pimento Cheese Board. The cheese board offers house-made pimento cheese topped with a sweet and savory to-die-for bacon jam.

Wilkinson expects to see a fairly sizable crowd at WOB-O-Ween and is happy her staff had a few months to prepare for winter in Florida, when restaurants are packed with seasonal residents.

"Any time you have an opening in Florida in August, you know you're going up against not the busiest time," Wilkinson said. "But it's been really nice to have the luxury of timing for us to get it right and really create a good team, because World of Beer has a rigorous training program." Wilkinson is originally from St. Petersburg, but worked in Manhattan's restaurant scene for 14 years before moving back to Florida.

The stringent knowledge requirements at World of Beer have helped Wilkinson quickly identify candidates who are dedicated and those who are not.

"If you don't pass your final exam, which is pretty hard and I took it as well, then you don't work at World of Beer," Wilkinson said. The final exam comes after a two-week paid training program. But beyond hours spent in the beer classroom, Wilkinson said to pass the test participants usually have to study at home, too.

"So there's a different kind of investment, a different echelon of server or bartender," she said. "It keeps people or you realize right away it's not the right fit for you or for us." Working at World of Beer is different than working at other restaurants where servers "just punch in and punch out. We ask a little bit more from you."

Keeping staff hasn't been the biggest struggle at Bradenton's World of Beer, though. The staff must work to overcome attitudes and opinions in a "Bud Light community," as Wilkinson phrased it.

"How do we make the most of our community and location while still upholding the standards of World of Beer?" Wilkinson said. "That was one thing we were all wondering in the beginning is how to change the minds of everyone to try something a little different."

World of Beer opened its doors in mid-July, and Wilkinson said traffic has been building steadily since. Mark Famiglio owns Orange Blossom Plaza, the strip surrounding World of Beer, and gave it a multimillion-dollar facelift earlier this year. He hoped traffic from World of Beer and the new look would entice tenants to sign leases in Orange Blossom Plaza.

In mid-October, Famiglio said he is still negotiating leases.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter@jayohday.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "World of Beer debuts fall menu, hosts WOB-O-Ween Halloween party, celebrates success in Bradenton ."